Archive for the 'Chelsea Handler' Tag Under 'Soundcheck' Category

Sugarland’s star vocalist is about to bust out on her own in a big way.

Next week brings Jennifer Nettles’ solo debut, That Girl, teased since August by its sultry title track, produced by Rick Rubin (who laid a similarly warm treatment on Dixie Chicks’ transformative last album, Taking the Long Way) and featuring songwriting contributions from Sara Bareilles, Richard Marx and Butch Walker, plus a cover of Bob Seger’s “Like a Rock.”

And after appearing alongside James Taylor, Lady Gaga, Alicia Keys, Steven Tyler, Martina McBride and many more at the MusiCares Person of the Year salute to Carole King on Jan. 24, Nettles embarks on her first tour without creative partner Kristian Bush since the duo became popular.

Eventually that trek winds its way to a Stagecoach appearance on April 26. But the singer, who turns 40 in September, has added a smaller local stop for fans who can’t get to the country festival in Indio, March 29 at the Wiltern. Tickets, $29.50-$69.50, go on sale Friday, Jan. 10, at 10 a.m.

August 9th, 2011, 12:00 pm by KELLI SKYE FADROSKI, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

All four comics heading to City National Grove of Anaheim on Friday agree that they never realized how much their lives would drastically change after joining Chelsea Handler's empire. For Heather McDonald (bottom left), Brad Wollack (right), Jen Kirkman (top right) and Fortune Feimster (top left) signing on with the best-selling author and television star meant stability in the otherwise rocky world of comedy.

The four personalities work as writers on the E! Network's late-night talk show and regularly appear on Handler's round-table discussions with other famous or rising comics to dish on daily pop-culture happenings.

Chelsea Lately debuted in 2007 and was an almost instant hit, spawning Comedians of Chelsea Lately tours as well as a spin-off – After Lately, a scripted reality sitcom exploring what happens behind the scenes of the show – and another New York Times chart-topping book, Lies Chelsea Handler Told Me, for which her writers contributed chapters on the playful misleadings of their boss.

“I got out all of my emotions on paper,” says Wollack, co-creator of After Lately. “I think people are so fascinated by Chelsea and the world she has created. The book peers into that world and it peeled back the layers, and it was fun for people. My chapter was the longest because I think I've been lied to the most.”

Wollack, the show's resident “ginger” (as Handler refers to him), gets the most abuse from the host during round-table sessions. She often calls him names and plays up how mean she is to him, but the target of her ridicule says it's all done with love.

February 16th, 2011, 12:39 am by BEN WENER, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

They provided one of Sunday night's standout performances at the Grammys – and though they both tend to wow no matter where they appear, now it makes sense why Bruno Mars and Janelle Monáe might have wanted to really impress audiences viewing at home.

Earlier today retro-modern soul star Mars, who took home his first Grammy for best male pop vocalist (for “Just the Way You Are”), and Monáe, whose album The ArchAndroid (Suites II and III) was one of last year's most celebrated and progressive works, announced they will team for a battle-of-the-pompadours tour, dubbed Hooligans in Wondaland.

The pairing kicks off May 4 at NYC's Roseland Ballroom and concludes with a stretch of shows in the west, including early June gigs in Seattle, Vancouver, Portland and Reno, a June 8 stop at Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco, and several appearances further south: June 10 at the Spotlight 29 Casino in Coachella, June 11 at the San Diego County Fair in Del Mar, June 12 at Gibson Amphitheatre and June 15 at Phoenix's Comerica Theatre.

If Sublime with Rome -- that is, Sublime without Brad Nowell -- is not Sublime at all, as so many haters contend, does that also mean that Billy Corgan plus three hired guns shouldn't really be considered the Smashing Pumpkins?

Regardless, Corgan has been carrying on as such lately, issuing his 44-song opus Teargarden by Kaleidyscope, one free download at a time, as he has them ready for marketplace. He's pretty much been getting raves so far, too, or at least for the four tracks (collective subtitle: Songs for a Sailor) that have been released since late last year. At that pace, most of his generation may have retired by the time he puts out the 11th four-cut EP in the series.

No further lineup details about the event have been revealed, apart from Slash being named the honoree of an Aug. 26 tribute at the nearby House of Blues. As they did last year, when 10,000 people turned out, organizers will once again close off Sunset Boulevard from San Vincente Boulevard to Doheny Drive in order to set up two stages, food vendors and a beer garden, plus all the Sunset Strip clubs will be hosting performances open to attendees of the SSMF.

May 5th, 2010, 5:17 pm by KELLI SKYE FADROSKI, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

She's been seen in bit parts on numerous TV shows and feature films -- even been in a few plays -- and pop-culture junkies know her well from biting quips she's made while appearing on VH1's I Love the … series. But, as it is for all burgeoning comics, the Holy Grail for Loni Love -- the sharp-witted, fun-loving comedienne most frequently seen on E!'s late-night program Chelsea Lately -- has always been a one-hour stand-up special.

Now Love's wish has been granted, as her first Comedy Central spotlight, America's Sister, premieres Saturday at 11:30 p.m. The performance was taped last November at the OC Pavilion in Santa Ana.

“It's a great special,” she said with confidence during a phone chat earlier this week. “I'm ready for everyone to see it finally.”

She has good reason to take pride in the personal milestone: “Being a female comic and getting a Comedy Central special is an honor because not a lot of women get that. To actually tape it and then have it approved was really an experience for me, so to be able to finally get the air date is great.” (Of course, as she's currently on the road, taking the night to watch her debut is off the table.)

Orange County was the perfect spot to tape her show, Love says, because the crowds that turn out to see her tend to be diverse, open-minded -- they embrace her sense of humor.

Talk about a dead week: the only truly big show is a third night (May 13) of Carole King & James Taylor's Troubadour Reunion at the Hollywood Bowl, now that May 14-15 are sold out. And that new gig doesn't go on sale until Jan. 25! Tickets are $17.50-$175. As with the first two dates, American Express card-holders get first crack, from Saturday at 10 a.m. through Jan. 22.

Trey Songz, who issued his third album (Ready) in August, has been added as an opening act (along with Young Jeezy) for Jay-Z's BP3 Tour bash at Staples Center on March 26, $39.50-$129.50. But in preparation for the big outing, the R&B star will first perform Jan. 30 at House of Blues Sunset Strip, with Canadian newcomer Melanie Fiona opening. Tickets, $42.50 in advance, $45 day of show, go on sale Thursday at 10 a.m.

True, the folksy assortment, which reunites the former Mr. MacManus with producer and longtime Coward Brothers collaborator T Bone Burnett, has more than a few echoes of the past, namely from his country covers collection Almost Blue (1981) and one of his finest masterworks, King of America (1986), a similarly sparse and rustic effort co-helmed by Burnett long before he rose to such prominent, Grammy-winning stature with O Brother, Where Art Thou? and Robert Plant & Alison Krauss' Raising Sand.

If anything, SP&S is a more mature, burnished and sometimes somber sequel to King of America -- and now, lucky us, Costello and his newly assembled group the Sugarcanes (presumably including Burnett and album assistants Jerry Douglass and Jim Lauderdale) are hitting the road, set to stop Aug. 18 at the Greek Theatre.

As previously mentioned, Lucinda Williams will make for an ideal opener. Tickets, $32.50-$67.50, go on sale Saturday, June 6, at 10 a.m. (By the way, does anyone remember the last time Costello played the Greek? Or has he ever? Been wracking my brain, but nothing's coming to me.)

Also new at the Greek and on sale at that time: Go Country's Summer Under the Stars featuring Rodney Atkins, Jack Ingram and the Eli Young Band, Aug. 9, $35-$80 ... Shant All Stars Grand Concert featuring Alla Levonyan, Seyran Tigranyan and more, Sept. 20, $30-$125 ... and a return visit from the reunited Loggins & Messina, with the Gabe Dixon Band opening, Oct. 2, $45-$100.

November 17th, 2008, 1:40 pm by KELLI SKYE FADROSKI, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

• Aries Spears – The former MADtvstar is serious about his stand-up comedy. He's witty and charismatic but not afraid to get loud and aggressive when the bit calls for it.

Spears was instrumental in the success of the sketch comedy show in the late '90s. During his eight-year run he added numerous characters and impressions, including James Brown, MC Hammer, Denzel Washington, Queen Latifa, Al Roker, Colin Powell and his most famous impersonation, Shaquille O'Neal.

He left the show in 1995 to pursue other acting gigs and voice-over work. Sadly, Fox recently announced that after 14 seasons, MADtv will not return after this year's run.

Spears also has been working hard on his stand-up routine, focusing on writing while touring the country. He stops by the Brea Improv this weekend. Show times are 8:30 p.m. Nov. 20 ... 8 & 10 p.m. Nov. 21 ... 7 & 9 p.m. Nov. 22 ... and 7 p.m. Nov. 23. Tickets are $17-$20 and are available at breaimprov.com.